Stemming from disclosures in 2011 made by two computer programmers who discovered tracking software built into the devices, lawsuits seek to prove Apple made it possible for advertisers to download personal data collected from users.

Data known to have been harvested, according to the judge, were addresses, genders, ages, identifiers assigned to devices and functions performed on particular apps. Some device owners said that Apple collected data about their precise whereabouts at a given moment.

Apple founder Steve Jobs insisted to the day he died that monitoring of customers’ data had never been done by the company, and never would be.